Photos are posted in the “Photos” Section

OK I finally sat down and have written a report of what went on at the 2011 International Convention.  The convention ran from July 17 – 22, 2011 in Chesapeake, Va. Hosted by VA V.

I arrived late on Sunday afternoon.  The trip from Cincinnati to Chesapeake was a long 11 hours and 670 miles.  Upon arrival there was a cookout from 4:00 – 6:00.

MONDAY

Starting on Monday and every day thereafter you were treated to a breakfast buffet.  After breakfast was the BOG Meeting.

Those not wanting to attend the meeting or spouses could take the Yankee Candle Tour.  There were also a lot of self-guided tours and other guided tours presented by the host chapter.

Below is a recap from Bob Seeyle.

Board of Governors: Voted to go to Hot Springs, Arkansas in 2013. The dates for the convention will be July 14 – 19, 2013We appreciate the presentation from TN 1 in Memphis and hope to have this option again. Koen Hutse, European Rep announced their plans for a bid to host International in Austria in 2014. Start saving up those air miles!

A proposal to have the Special Fund include other family members got a majority, but not the required 2/3′s vote for a by-law change. The main hang-up was that some prefer language that would include children.

We had an excellent presentation regarding the 2012 Int’l Convention in Tyler, TX hosted by the TX XXXIV chapter, July 22-27, 2012. The host hotel is filling fast. Info on the Int’l website. (See below)

A vote was taken at the General Membership meeting regarding a proposal to hold future Int’l Elections/vote counting at the Int’l Convention instead of in Bangor in January. Much discussion was about changing the method of counting the ballots and having this handled by a private company. (This is still being researched and finalized). After a vote, this proposal stands and is now in effect.

At the Board of Directors Mtg, a proposal was passed that will have the Conference in charge of “Members at Large”, instead of the Int’l Office. The Election Committee gave a report and they are getting close to a proposal that would have a private company handle of future Int’l Elections. A draft Sexual Harassment Policy was presented and will be forwarded to our attorneys for review. A proposal was passed that will allow Conferences to opt out of receiving mailed copies of minutes; a big cost savings.

BOG Awards: Roger Farris Award for best represented chapter (formula: number attending, divided by total chapter members, times miles via direct route) was the Edmonton Chapter with 5 of 29 members riding 2574 miles! The Horst Maier Award (same for UK and Europe) was the England IX chapter with 4 members present. The Frank Gillespie Long Distance award went to Bruce from Edmonton Metro with 4,475 miles, 2nd place Mike Cate, WA II President with 4,420 miles. The John Bartholomew award for the most (per members) donated to the Special Fund went to the FLA XVII Chapter.

We had many Distinguished Service and Life Saving Awards. Those present received their awards. All will be sent to the BK news to be published. BOG Vice-Chairman Lon Strayer held a raffle for a Motorcycle Communication set (value $300) that was donated with proceeds going to the Special Fund. $731 was raised. Thank you Lon.

That’s a brief recap until the complete minutes are published. Those traveling home had extreme heat and some heavy rain. So far, no accident reports. Was a great week, good seeing everyone. Thank you VA V….RWP

Bob Seelye, Chairman
Board of Governors

2012 International Host Hotel:
Dates of Convention July 22 thru 27 2012
It’s at the Holiday Inn in Tyler, TX. Room Rate 94.00/night  POC reservations: Rebecca McLaughlin 903-561-5800

After the BOG Meeting there were a few vendors in the Host hotel parking lot.  We had a guy doing pin stripping, a guy selling flags, the Hooter Girls offering photos of them with you and your bike, and a Nascar Simulator.  You could try your hand a racing around a track.
At 13:00 there was the General Membership meeting.

That evening we had a fish fry at the local Shrine Avitities Building.  Here we had live entertainment (a group called Everafter), free margaritas, and all the food you could eat.  They were also raffling off a Henry repeating rifle.

After dinner the hospitality room opened starting @ 7:00 pm and ending ??:??  Playing this night was Mitch Foutz.

TUESDAY

I meet a group from NJ XVII and we went on the self-guided poker run.  You had all week to complete the poker run.  You just had to get your brochure stamped so they knew you went to all the locations.  Once you completed the poker run you brought your brochure back, drew seven cards for the best hand.  Winning hand got $500.00.  The poker run took you all around the Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Norfolk area.  We did stop at the Ocean View Restaurant which has the longest Pier in North America.  Ocean Pier is located in Norfolk, VA.

That evening the hospitality room had a Woman singing Patsy Cline songs.  She sounded just like her.  Later in the evening it was “Karaoke time.”

Wednesday

Wednesday morning started out with our morning breakfast buffet.  From there we staged for the parade through Chesapeake and Virginia Beach areas.  We had over 600 bikes of all makes and types in the parade.  We had a police escort through town where residents actually stopped in the opposite lanes to observe our parade.

After the parade I and the members of NJ XVII finished our last three stops of the poker run.  After we returned and drew our cards one of the NJ members drew a full house.

In the afternoon there was the motorcycle skills competition.  This was similar to the Motors Competition that is held in Tucson each year.  Not as elaborate but just a fun to watch.  We even had the police escort guys run the competition with our Blue Knights.

Wednesday evening we went back to the Shrine Activities Building where we had a “Southern Style” bar-be-cue cookout.  We even had the remnants of the pig to partake in.  We had Cam & The Riverboyz as entertainment.

In the Hospitality room we had a local artist Dave Derring to sing.

Thursday

After our morning breakfast on Thursday we took off on bikes in a group for the tour of the Norfolk Naval Base.  Once on the base we boarded tour buses for a trip around the base.  We could not get off the bus for the tour and were not allowed to take close-up photos of the ships that were in port.  The Enterprise was there for refueling.  We found out that in order to refuel they have to cut a hole in the ship to refuel her.  Also in port was the Yorktown, The New York, which was made from steel from the WTC, and the Arlington, which was made from steel from the Pentagon.  We were allowed to take photos of the ships from a distance.  Many of the ships you can see from the photos I took that are posted in the Photos Section.

Thursday evening we had an hour social hour before dinner where there was an ice sculpture of a motorcycle.  Within the motorcycle was a tube.  You could purchase “shots” which were poured through this tube and cooled as they came out the back of the bike.

The banquet dinner started @ 19:00 where we had a buffet consisting of seafood pasta, chicken, roast beef, vegetable medley, roasted red potatoes, and an assortment of desserts.

Friday

Friday was the day of farewells and “See You Next Year.”  Everyone is looking forward to next years International Convention in Tyler Texas.

UPDATE

I will post the information for the 2012 International Convention on our Web Page in the days to come.  Keep watching ;the “Categories” Section under Conventions.

RWP

RoN Friend
Secretary/Treasurer
BK AZIX